


Unfamiliar Family

by NyGi



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Aftermath, Family Drama, Healing, Voldemort never lost his powers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-22
Updated: 2017-07-18
Packaged: 2018-11-17 07:19:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,279
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11270712
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NyGi/pseuds/NyGi
Summary: Bill Weasley had mourned his siblings years ago, but when Voldemort is finally killed and his headquarters raided, people long thought dead are returned to their families. When no one wants or is able to tell Bill what happened, he decides to solve that mystery by himself. - my take at the old 'Voldemort wasn't stopped in 81' idea. Some pretty dark themes, but nothing explicit.





	1. Return

**Chapter1**

**Return**

 

Bill Weasley hadn’t expected his day to go like this. Yesterday he had been working in Egypt, feeling both guilty and lucky not to be anywhere near Britain. Then the news had hit. Voldemort was gone. Probably dead. And the Snake Pit, the fabled, horrifying hub of everything they feared, had fallen. They had been celebrating happily, him and his colleagues, when his mother’s message had found him several hours later. Ron and Ginny had been found during the raid of the Snake Pit. Bill had felt like his world had collapsed around him. Ron and Ginny. He had thought them dead. They all had. Taken too soon in a war not yet supposed to be theirs. They had mourned them, like they had Dad. And then, years later,  Charlie. Bill fiddled with his dragon claw earring. Charlie’s last gift to him.

When Charlie had died, Bill had hoped for something, anything to make it not true. There had been no miracle for them. And now? He had taken one of the first hurriedly organized portkeys back to England and gotten into the queue outside St. Mungo’s. 

There were news of people long thought dead and lost found within the dungeons of Voldemort’s headquarter. Now here they all were, hoping to get news of their lost relatives. Bill was one of the lucky ones, he knew his family was there and got ushered towards a different line. Still, it took hours to process him. Finally he was let through and given directions. But no one could or would tell him anything. Where were they sending him? In what condition were his siblings? They had both been in captivity for over two years… 

Bill was making his way through what looked like an endless supply of people, hurrying up when he spotted Percy’s red head. He was standing next to the twins and a tall, blonde woman Bill had never seen but assumed to be Carol, Percy’s girlfriend. George spotted him first and hugged him tightly, Bill held on longer than he had originally planned, simply needing a moment of his brother’s comfort. They all looked tired and worn. And simultaneously happier than Bill had ever seen them. 

He was gone. Voldemort was gone. It was still too good to be true. Ron and Ginny were alive. Alive. But probably not well. 

“What can you tell me?”, he asked after hugs and introductions.

‘Don’t expect too much’, he tried to tell himself, but hope had already taken hold in his heart.

“We have seen Ron. He is much better than we thought. They put him in a room with Neville. The healers are in there right now, so we were asked to wait outside.” ,  Fred told him quietly. Bill turned, seeing Alice and Augusta Longbottom a few meters behind them. They waved at him, looking ecstatic. Neville was their only child and grandchild. Bill wondered if getting Neville back was more of a miracle to them, than it was to  the Weasleys, who were getting back two kids. 

“And Ginny?”, Bill dared to ask.

Their faces darkened. 

“We haven’t seen Ginny yet. Your Mum is with her.”, Carol informed him, as none of his brothers made an attempt to answer.

“They found about 50 women and girls.”, George told him, confirming Bill’s dark suspicions, “Which is why finding Ron and Neville was so unexpected.”

The door opened in front of them. A smiling healer ushered them in. “All good.”, he told them. And the Longbottoms followed close behind them. Ron and Neville were both sitting up in their beds, smiling at them. Ron’s face lit up, when he saw his oldest brother. Bill hurried over and hugged him tightly.

“The healers say, we are fine.”, Ron informed them. Bill really wanted to ask more. Why? Why and how were the two of them alive? 

“Has Mum been to see you?”, he asked instead.

“Yeah, for a bit. She's with Ginny now.”, Ron’s eyes darkened. Again, Bill really wanted to ask, but didn't dare to. 

“I can come home tomorrow.”, Ron told him instead, “They want to keep me overnight. And ask some questions. Then we can both go.”

That seemed strange to Bill. He assumed the investigators would have more than “some questions”. 

They talked for a bit. About normal things. No one dared to ask Ron about the last two years and Ron wasn’t offering up any information. 

“Ron”, George finally dared to ask what was on all of their minds, “Do you know what happened to Ginny?”

Ron clamped his mouth shut, his eyes turned away from them. Bill turned to follow his little brother’s line of sight. He was staring at Neville, who was looking back just as stone-faced. A chill ran down Bill’s back, as Ron answered in a monotone voice: “No. We don't know anything.”

“Ron…”, George tried again.

“I am really tired. I need a little bit of sleep.”, Ron told them, immediately lying down and pulling up his covers. Bill felt like Ron had slapped him. 

“I am really tired, too.”, he could hear Neville telling his mother and grandmother, albeit much softer and warmer than Ron, “Maybe come back tomorrow, yes? We can talk some more then. Once I am home.”

Before Bill had really processed the whole thing, he was ushered outside by the smiling healer.

“They both need some time.“,  Alice Longbottom told them, appearing to be trying to convince herself, “We can't even begin to imagine.”

“They are hiding something.”, Percy muttered.

“Maybe they just want to protect you from the truth.”, Carol tried.

“Or themselves.”, Augusta Longbottom replied gloomily.

“What are you saying?!”, Percy sounded honestly offended on their brother’s behalf.

Mrs Longbottom looked at Percy with something akin to pity on her face, but chose not to answer, instead forcefully taking her daughter-in-law's arm and pulling her away.

The remaining Weasleys were looking at each other uncomfortably.

“Maybe we should go to Ginny’s room?”, Carol tried, but Fred shook his head.

“They won't let us in anyway and we’ve been here for ages. Let’s go and get something to eat first.” 

“I am not hungry.”, Bill interjected and had them explain the way. Closed ward. That didn't bode well. 

He had to go through two more security checks before finally being admitted. The ministry was taking great care not let anyone unauthorized see the women and girls rescued in the past hours. 

He found Ginny’s room and set down in front of it, ready to wait for his mother to come out at some point. He must have dozed off for a bit and woke to his mother’s loud voice coming through the closed door: “Absolutely not!”

There was a mumbled response Bill didn't get, then his mother again: “No one is taking the child away from her mother! No one!”

Bill’s eyes widened in horror, when his mother’s words finally registered. He got up in a hurry and pushed the door open without knocking.

The first thing he noticed was his mother, hands on hips and angrily glaring at two men Bill recognized as Law Enforcement. They looked annoyed, but not much else.

“Mrs Weasley…”, one of them tried again, completely ignoring Bill’s arrival. The small form on the bed behind his mother did not. 

Ginny was sitting at the end of the bed, pressed to the far wall, as if trying to get as far away from the two men as possible. Her red hair was cut into a short, chin length bob and she was clad in hospital robes. There were dark circles under her tired looking eyes, but she was looking at him with a calculating gaze. Something moved and Bill finally saw the small child Ginny was clutching tightly. Or more accurately: Bill saw a wild mob of black curls. The child’s face was buried into Ginny’s chest, who kept gently stroking her back.

“What's going on?”, Bill asked, keeping his voice calm.

“They are trying to take the little girl away from her mother.”, his Mum huffed, “And that is not happening. Hello dear.”

“Mrs Weasley, we have talked about this. The child is at least three years old. She is too old to be Ginevra’s child.”, the man’s annoyance was seeping from every word. Bill gave a sigh of relief. Not Ginny’s. Not Ginny’s. He repeated over and over in his mind.

“Kyra. Her name is Kyra. And she is mine.”, Ginny’s voice was soft, almost inaudible. Soft and scared.

“Miss Weasley, she could stay with you during the testing, but we need to take her in now. Find out, if she has family. We can't just…”

“I am her family.”, Ginny told them with a note of desperation. The child moved her head slightly, Bill could see one bright blue eye looking up at him in fear. 

Kyra, Bill thought, her name is Kyra.

“You can't just take her away.”, Bill chipped in, “I want to talk to your superior and hear his reasons.”

“It’s standard procedure.”

“Nothing about this is standard anything.”, his Mum hissed.

The door behind Bill opened again. An older man in robes identifying him as a healer entered, looking concerned.

“What is going on here? This is no place for arguments.”

“We came for the child.”

“No. You did not.”, the healer determined, “I will not have my patient stressed by the forceful removal of her daughter. Please leave. I have not cleared Miss Weasley for questioning.”

“The child is not her daughter!”, now the man was shouting.

The healer didn't even dignify that with a response. Instead he walked over to Ginny’s bed and smiled at her, pulling a little stuffed dragon out of his robes.

“Nelly here belonged to my granddaughter. I thought you might like to have her.”, he softly told little Kyra, who still wasn’t looking at him. 

“Kyra, it’s okay.”, Ginny told her softly. 

Carefully little Kyra loosened her grip on Ginny and turned around. Her eyes found the two strange men. Immediately she turned away again. The healer sighed, placing the toy back in his robes.

“You really need to go now. Leave your names with reception. I will get in touch.”

Bill expected Law Enforcement to put up more of a fight, but they both just walked out without even saying goodbye.

“They are busy enough as it is.”, he explained and turned his attention back to Ginny and Kyra, “They won't be back for a while.”

“Thank you, Healer Kremer.”, his Mum shook the man’s hand in gratitude.

He smiled at her in response and held the stuffed dragon out towards Kyra again. This time she did fully turn around and carefully took it, holding it close to her chest. She had a round, pale little face, her eyes looked a little too big for it and their deep blue colour was striking.

“Thank you.”, Ginny told him, when Kyra smiled widely. 

Little Kyra seemed to feel safe enough now to let go of Ginny fully, happily smiling at the dragon. As she carefully scooted away from Ginny to sit on the bed and play, Bill finally got  a good look at his previously lost little sister. 

He let out an audible gasp. His mother shot him a disapproving stare.

Kyra might be too old to be Ginny’s biological daughter, but judging by Ginny’s protruding belly, he would be a biological uncle soon, too.


	2. Boxes

**Chapter 2**

**Boxes**

 

Bill had been convinced Ginny would have to stay at the hospital much longer than Ron, but it turned out they were busy and overdrawn. So like with Ron, they were told to come back in the morning. The Snake Pit was still being searched. They would need the beds. Ginny and Kyra could come to the Burrow. Law Enforcement would be by to talk to them. Healer Kremer had quietly told them that Ginny was physically fine. She would need sleep, but other than that… mentally, he said, they would have to wait and see. 

In a kind of stupor they all made their way back to their own homes, Bill being the only one to return to the Burrow with his mother. Normally she would have spend hours asking him about every little detail of his life, but they were both too overwhelmed. Bill, totally exhausted, found the bed in his old room and fell right into it.

He woke hours later to the soft noise of something moving beneath him. Carefully he made his way downstairs to find his mother in the twins’ old  bedroom, rummaging through open drawers and the wardrobe.

“Mum? What are you doing?”

“Getting rid of some things and packing up the others.”

“Okay… but why?”

“Because Ginny will need a room.”

“But Ginny has a room…”, Bill tried carefully. The Burrow was sad like that. Ron’s and Ginny’s rooms had been left the way they were. And Bill generally left Charlie’s things alone, too. 

“Of course. But she won’t be able to use it. It’s by itself. I doubt Kyra will want to be too far away from… from her mother…”, his Mum stopped, breathing heavily, “And she is going to have a baby, too. So at some point Kyra will have to move up to make room for the nursery. I don’t know. Maybe we should simply give Ginny the master bedroom. I can move down and…”

“Mum, maybe we should not do that tonight.”

“No! We will HAVE to do this tonight. Ron’s room, too. Maybe he should…”

“Mum.”, Bill tried again, “Ron has a room and no child to keep close. He will probably be thankful for a bit of normality. Ginny, too. Let them have their rooms back.”

“This is not NORMAL!”, his mother’s voice became sharp, “They will hate it. They will hate being back here. It will remind them of what happened. We cannot just leave it like this!”

She stopped and Bill walked over to hug her, as she started to cry in his arms.

“It will be okay, Mum. Just… let them come here tomorrow and then decide for themselves, okay?”

“Yes.”, she sniffled after a bit, letting go of Bill and trying to put on a strong face, “But I will clean this out just in case. And tomorrow morning I will need you to go up in the attic and get your old children’s bed for Kyra. I can’t sleep now anyway.”

Neither could Bill. Not when he knew his mother was down here, alone with her dark thoughts. So instead he got to work. They packed up boxes of old parchment for the twins to sort through themselves and then did the same with the clothes and books. At some point they moved on to Percy’s room next door and did the same. 

After hours of work Bill finally found the strength to ask his mother what has been on his mind for hours: “Mum, do you know what happened?”

“With what, dear?”, she asked, her gaze distractedly looking at Percy’s old Headboy Badge.

“Ginny. Do you know… who…”

“No.”, his mother told him sharply, “She didn’t talk about that and… I didn’t ask and neither will you.”

“Of course I won’t, Mum.”

“Good. It doesn’t matter anyway. She is coming home. She is alive. So is Ron. We have been so lucky, Bill. It’s all I need to know.”

 

Bill nodded. He knew where his mother was coming from, but still he didn’t know if he would be able to let it go.

“All we heard was that You-Know-Who was dead. News reached us… well, sparsely. What happened, Mum?”

“He was killed.”, she informed him, “The Order…. Well, we are still trying to find out what exactly happened, but it looks planned.”

“Who ever did it, I hope they’ll give him every award known to men.”, Bill smiled at her, but his mother didn’t smile back.

“No, I don’t think so. I can’t believe you haven’t heard this. It was Harry Potter. He surrendered to the Aurors. They took him straight to Azkaban.”

“Harry Potter?”, Bill was staring at her with wide eyes. Harry Potter, almost as hated and feared as Voldemort himself. His favourite assassin. His right-hand man. His adopted son.

“Why would he… I mean… that doesn’t make any sense. At all.”

“I don’t know, either. Believe me. It’s all so strange.”

“How are the Potters doing then?”

His Mum sighed again.

“I spoke to Lily last month, that’s it. They have been really withdrawn since

… never mind. Once everything is settled a bit, I will visit her. I know this isn’t easy for them.”

Bill snorted in disbelief.

“He is their son, Bill. They lost him, too. Thought him dead. They are good people.”

“I know.” Bill admitted guiltily. He actually liked Lily and James, although he has never really had anything to do with their children. But he knew Tonks… well, Mrs Lupin now, from school and had got to know them all through the Order and his parents.

“Healer Kremer told me it was actually Sirius, who brought Ginny and Kyra in. I will have to thank him later. He is a member of the team combing through the Snake Pit.”, she shuddered and Bill did the same. It didn’t sound like a great thing, really, “I wonder sometimes… how did we get here? How did we come to this?”

“I don’t know.”, Bill admitted, “I never knew anything else.”

His mother gave him a sad smile and they continued until the early hours of the morning.

After a couple of hours of sleep, mother and son made their way back to St. Mungo’s. 

The others had offered to come as well, but their Mum has refused. She and Bill had decided on giving Ron, Ginny and Kyra time to adjust first. If everything went well, the others would come by for dinner the day after.

They were a bit later than expected when they arrived and decided to split up. Bill hurried over to Ron’s room, only to find Ron and the Longbottoms sitting in front of it.

“Oh, I am so sorry, Ron, all that security.”

“Don’t worry about it.”, Ron told him. He already looked better, Bill thought. Maybe a good night sleep and a whole lot of potions would do that to you. Ron and Neville looked at each other. They looked… sad, Bill realized, sorry to part. They hugged, before the Longbottoms made their way towards the exit.

“We will have to wait.”, Bill told Ron. He felt awkward. What was he supposes to say to Ron now? He was scared of saying the wrong thing. Scared of letting the awkwardness seep in.

“I will be good to leave the Burrow, right? “, Ron asked suddenly and Bill turned around to look at him in shock.

“Leave?”, he asked dumbfounded.

“Yeah. It will be weird not to see Neville every day.”

“You saw him every day?”, Bill asked, unable to forget Augusta Longbottom’s pitying gaze from the day before.

“We were together at Hogwarts all the time. And then together in a cell for…”, Ron stopped, a small crease on his forehead, “What day is it?”

“3rd of June.”, Bill told him, trying to hide the pity in his voice. Then he added “2000”,  just to be on the safe side.

“Oh.”, Ron shrugged, “I am 20.”

Bill was spared from commenting on that chilling declaration by the arrival of their mother, carrying little Kyra. The girl was clutching… Nelly, her new dragon, and looked around suspiciously. 

Bill noticed Ron turning around, his gaze zooming in on the child. For a second there Bill thought he could spot something dark in Ron’s face, before his smile returned. Not for long, though. It vanished completely, when they spotted Ginny. She was walking behind their mother, her face half hidden by the hood of her dark, green coat. Bill could see Ron’s gaze shift to her visible belly and Ginny stopped right in her tracks. 

“Ron?”, she whispered, her voice still far too soft for the spunky girl Bill remembered. 

Ron had passed Bill long before he could even blink and hugged Ginny with such force, Bill worried a bit for the child pressed in between them. But Ginny and Ron just stood there, holding each other. Mumbling softly, but Bill couldn’t make out the words. Their Mum sniffled a little next to them, shifting Kyra in her arms. Bill realized that the girl was probably quite heavy in his mother’s arms.

“Mum?”, he asked, “I can carry Kyra, if you like.”

His mother smiled thankfully at him, but Kyra had obviously understood him just fine and she didn’t seem that happy, starting to squirm instead, until his Mum actually let her down.

Kyra hurried towards Ginny, shooting Ron, who was still hugging her, a weary look. Her bright blue eyes turned back to study Bill and his Mum,  before falling down to her knees and crawling under Ginny’s cloak.

That finally separated Ron and Ginny.

“Kyra, honey, it’s okay. No need to worry.”, Ginny assured the lump that was Kyra. Only when Kyra’s small head peeked out again, did Bill realize that she hadn’t uttered a single word yet. That was… odd. A three year old was supposed to talk. A lot. He had enough younger siblings to realize that. And remembered it even better.

Ginny looked torn. She obviously wanted to pick her little girl up, but knew she probably shouldn’t. Bill made a split-second decision and crouched down in front of Ginny.

“Hi Kyra, we met yesterday, remember?”

This earned him a careful look and then, thankfully, a soft nod. 

“I am your Uncle Bill, your Mum’s brother. It is very nice to really meet you.”

Kyra looked up at Ginny, who smiled at her and nodded.

“If it’s okay with you, I’d like to carry you. I think you are going to find that I have very comfortable arms.”

Kyra just looked at him again, before she crawled out under Ginny’s cloak and opened her arms, still clutching Nelly in her left hand.

Bill carefully picked her up and then got up himself. His mother was positively beaming at him and Ron, who had stayed silent the whole time, took Ginny’s hand as they walked out together. 


	3. The Burrow

**Chapter 3**

**The Burrow**

 

They reached the Burrow via the Floo. Bill and Kyra going through first and his Mum last. 

They stood in front of the fireplace, looking at each other awkwardly.

“Are you hungry?”

“No. Thanks, Mum.”, Ron smiled at her.

“We left your rooms… I don’t know if you’d… well.”

“Yeah.”, Ron declared, “I will go and take a look. Maybe lay down for a bit…”

“Of course!”, Mum smiled, “I’ll take you. New linens, too. Will you be alright?”

“Sure.”, Bill told her, but he honestly wasn’t too sure. Ginny was still looking around, her hood still half covering her face. Kyra meanwhile seemed content in his arms, her head resting on his shoulder, her little hands holding Nelly tightly. Bill found himself reflexively pressing a kiss to the child's head, swaying slightly.

Strange, he thought, how he had apparently already decided that she was part of his family now. Ginny meanwhile was looking at some of the pictures around. There wasn’t a single one taken after her abduction, Bill realized.

“How are Percy, Fred and George?”, Ginny asked and Bill remembered that she hadn’t seen them yet.

“They are doing great. Percy… well, he still works for the ministry and has a new girlfriend now. Carol. George is dating Angelina Johnson.”

Ginny nodded, “I like her. She’s nice.”

“They’ll be over for dinner tomorrow, if you are fine with that.”

“Yeah. I would like that. Tomorrow sounds nice.”

“We thought you might like to settle in today.”

Ginny nodded, finally pulling down her hood.

“Do you know where… Kyra and I will need to sleep somewhere.”

“Of course!”, Bill smiled, remembering Ron’s reaction, “Come on, we’ll walk to your room.”

When they reached the room, Bill walked in, expecting Ginny to follow. She didn’t though. Instead standing at the door and looking inside, her face unreadable.

“You don’t have to stay here.”, Bill tried and she looked at him, her face hopeful, “Mum and I cleared out the rooms upstairs. You and Kyra would be on the same floor. I brought the little bed down.”

It was the first time Bill saw her smile.

“Do we want to go and look, little angel?”, Ginny asked Kyra, who looked a little sceptical, Bill thought. 

They looked at Kyra’s room first. Bill had not only put a bed in, but also found some of their old toys and Kyra squirmed happily, until Bill put her down. She ran over to a box of little toy animals and laughed loudly. Bill wondered, if it was the first sound he had ever heard her make.

Ginny sighed happily. They left Kyra to play by herself, telling her they were just going next door. Ginny sank down on the bed.

“You think it will do?”, Bill tried to joke.

“Yeah.”, Ginny replied and then smiled again, “It’s good to be home, Bill.”

“It’s good to have you home.”

“Do you… do you know what will happen next?”

“Other than you and Kyra living here, being happy and healthy and waiting for my new niece or nephew to arrive and then be happy with one more person to spoil?”

“Thank you, Bill.”, she smiled. 

“Ginny… I want you to know that, well… we’ll listen, if you want us to.”

“There is nothing to say.”, she told him, but Bill hadn’t expected anything else. 

“I’ll go and play with Kyra for a bit, if that’s okay.”, she didn’t wait for his response, instead hurrying past him and into the other room.

Bill looked after her for a whole minute, before he made his way downstairs and decided tea sounded like a good option. 

His Mum was already there, sipping on a cup of tea herself, offering one to him. He took it thankfully and sat down.

“That went alright.”, Mum said, taking another sip.

“It’s a good thing you didn’t listen to me. Ginny was so happy with the other room. And Kyra seems really happy with the toys.”

“It’s going to be a challenge to figure it all out. We don’t even… we don’t know much. I was just sitting here wondering if Kyra had toys before? If she and Ginny slept in one room? If she had ever even left the Snake Pit?”

“I doubt it. The leaving part, I mean.”, Bill admitted. He hadn’t had it in him to think about these things yet. One step at a time, he thought.

“I was a bit worried about Ginny and Ron, but they were happy to see each other.”

“Why were you worried?”, Bill asked, his brow creased in confusion. 

“Because of what happened back when Ginny was… oh, it doesn’t matter. It was a long time ago.”

“Mum. Please tell me.”

She sighed and took another sip of her tea, “We were sitting at dinner together and… well, Ron and Ginny got into a fight. She ran out. Wanted to go and see  Luna…”

“Which was when they took her.”

“Yes.”

“Oh Mum, I'm so sorry.”

“They are both home now.”

“Mum, what’s going to happen now? Ginny just asked me and I don’t know. They wanted to take Kyra away… that won’t happen, right?”

“No! It’s all so much of a mess now, but no, no one will take Kyra. As far as I understood from the paper this morning, she is by far not the only child found there. Everyone is trying to figure this out. I am sure we will know more soon. There are so many things to think about. I read this morning that they want to start with the trials in a month. They might want to know from Ginny then, so they know who… well, that’s a problem for another day.”

Bill felt anger well up inside him. He had forced himself not to think about that. About WHO had done this to his little sister. But Ginny might have to speak at his trial. He shivered. His mind going back to the Death Eaters he knew about. He felt sick at the idea.

“I’ll go and check on them.”, Bill declared. He couldn’t say why, but he needed to make sure Ginny was still there. 

He made his way quietly upstairs, just in case Ginny had decided to lay down as well, only to hear his sister's soft voice coming from Kyra’s room: “See? It’s nice here. You have toys again. And tomorrow we’ll go out and play a little.” 

“I miss Daddy.”

Bill inhaled sharply, but Ginny continued.

“I know, little Angel. But we are safe now.” 

Bill was torn. He didn’t want to spy on Ginny, but at the same time…

He knocked at the door and stepped in. Ginny was sitting cross legged on the floor, Kyra was sitting nuzzled into her side. She had a book open on her lap and smiled at him.

“Tea?”, he asked, unable to come up with a better reason as to why he had come up to see them.

“Oh yes.”, Ginny agreed and held out her hands so Bill could help pull her to her feet. She took Kyra’s hand, who had fallen silent again, and they carefully made their way downstairs.

As Bill walked slowly behind them, he decided for himself that Ginny wouldn’t have to talk, he understood if she didn’t. But he would find another way to find the truth.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

**Dinner**

 

Bill found Ginny and Ron outside early the next morning, sitting on chairs, teas in hand and watching Kyra chase the chickens through the yard. The little girl was laughing loudly, her arms outstretched and trying to grab one of the terrified creatures. 

Bill laughed as well, when he saw his delighted niece manage to touch one of the chickens. Shocked by her success, she just stopped wide eyed and let the chicken run away, before running after it again.

“We should probably tell her not to scare the chickens.”, Ron told him, grinning widely, “But it’s a bit too much fun for that.”

“Agreed.”

Bill sat down on the steps and smiled when he saw Ron holding Nelly.

“She really loves that dragon.”

“Yes. It was a big thing that she trusted Ron with her safekeeping.”, Ginny agreed, already looking much more relaxed than the day before.

“I am honoured and shall defend the little dragon with my life.”, Ron deadpanned.

Bill laughed. Seeing them like this, relaxed and laughing a little, he honestly believed that maybe they’d all be alright. 

“Do you think she will get bored at some point?”, Ron asked.

“No.”, Bill and Ginny answered together.

They were still sitting in comfortable silence when Kyra did give up about an hour later. Bill really admired her attention span. Impressive for a girl her age.

“How old is she exactly?”, Bill asked  and regretting it instantly. Was he allowed to ask that?

“Almost four.”, Ginny replied, “Her birthday is the 4th of August.”

Four. She was born right before Ginny’s fifteenth birthday. Ginny wasn’t even 19 yet. Four… She should be talking a lot more then, but after what Bill had heard yesterday, he assumed she was just not comfortable around people.

As if to prove Bill wrong, Kyra walked over to them and said: “Uncle Ron, may I have Nelly back.”

“Yes, you may.”, Ron told her seriously and Kyra looked at Ginny, then she looked over at Ron and finally Bill. Her face scrunched up thoughtfully.

“What’s wrong, Angel.”

“You are too big now.”, Kyra told Ginny bluntly and Ron laughed, “Uncle Bill, can I sit?”

“Of course.”, Bill agreed and opened his arms so Kyra could climb on his lap.

“Were the chickens too fast for you?”, Ron asked her.

“They are fast. Now I am tired.”

“Maybe you’ll feel better after breakfast. See the smoke? It looks like Grandma will feed us all soon.”, Bill pointed upwards.

“If you eat everything Grandma gives you, you will just get more tired.”, Ron told her. 

Kyra gasped.

“But a nice kind of tired.”, Ginny hurried, “The one where you just sit down on a couch and have someone read something to you.”

“Ohhhhhhh, we will all read something together?”, Kyra’s voice was hopeful.

“Sure we will.”, Bill laughed, “We’ll find something nice.”

“Good morning, Weasleys.”, Mum stood behind them as of on cue, using one of Dad’s favourite greetings, “Everyone go clean their hands and then come for breakfast.”

“But Muuuuum.”, Ron whined and they all laughed again. 

“Clean hands, Uncle Ron.”, Kyra declared, jumped off Bill’s lap and took Ron’s hand. They vanished inside.

“Wow. That’s quite the difference to yesterday.”, Bill smiled at Ginny.

“She was just scared and tired. She doesn’t understand. How could she?”, Ginny’s face turned sad.

“Ginny…”, he started, ready to ask about what he had overheard the day before, but in the end he couldn’t get himself to do it, “Let’s go and wash our hands, too. Be a good example.”

Breakfast was a rather joyous affair and Bill was sure he had never seen his mother so happy before. Heaving food on their plates and listening intently when Kyra told her how she had touched one of the chickens.

“If you get up early tomorrow, we can go and get the eggs together.”, Mum told her, “If you are really careful and quiet then, I am sure you can touch more chickens.”

Kyra’s eyes burned with excitement.

Bill jumped up when the owl arrived, delivering the Daily Prophet. 

Late, he thought, as he quickly paid for the paper, really late. 

“Oh.”, Ginny sighed, when her eyes fell on the paper. Bill followed her gaze and froze. There was a list of names on the cover. Alphabetical order. Bill skimmed down, only to find Weasley, Ronald and Weasley, Ginevra right at the bottom of the list.

“What does it say?”, Ron asked, his voice sounding strained. 

Bill was sure he had never before read so quickly.

“A list of everyone found. And then it says ‘several children’, but they are not giving names.”

“Good.”, his Mum grumbled, but Ginny still looked spooked, “What do you think of Shepherd’s pie for tonight?”

Smooth, Bill thought, really smooth.

“Good idea, Mum!”, Ron grinned.

“That means someone will have to go and get potatoes from the garden.”

Ron’s grin vanished and Bill laughed out loud. It was… like it used to be.

“I’ll go.”, he declared, “Kyra can help me collect them.”

He remembered when Ginny had been her age, happy to help out her brother and have an opportunity to get her hands REALLY dirty.

Kyra nodded enthusiastically and the paper seemed forgotten for now.

\--------

 

After breakfast they did indeed all sit down and listened to Bill read a story from the tales of Beedle the Bard, before Ginny declared her back was hurting and she needed to lay down and Ron and Bill took Kyra outside to get potatoes. 

The rest of the day was spend with helping Mum, relaxing on various chairs and watching Kyra and her boundless energy running around. 

Bill had found himself thinking that the poor girl probably hadn’t spend too much time running outside. If any. And now she took that opportunity as fast as her little feet would carry her.

The three of them were still outside, when Percy was the first to arrive. Bill, who had thought  Kyra's shyness might have been a temporary thing, was shocked to find Kyra  hiding behind him. 

Good to know, he thought.

“Hello, Percy.”, Ron smiled, “It’s good to see you.”

Percy, who was normally much more composed than his siblings, almost ran forward and hugged Ron violently.

“Kyra? How about we go inside and let Uncle Ron and Uncle Percy say hi?”

“Uncle Percy?”, she asked, “Mummy’s brother.”

“Exactly. She told you he was coming today?”

“No.”; Kyra smiled, “But she talks about all her brothers.”

He was ready to go inside, when Percy let go of Ron and turned towards Bill and Kyra. The two brothers smiled at each other before Percy crouched down and said: “Hi! You must be Kyra. Grandma has already told me quite a lot about you. I am your Uncle Percy.”

“Hi.”

“I didn’t know what you’d like, but I brought something.”, and very carefully he pulled a chocolate frog from his pocket and handed it to Kyra, who squealed happily and pressed the chocolate to her chest.

“Thank you, Uncle Percy.”

“And I don’t get chocolate?”, Ron asked, his voice still heavy.

“Of course you do, little brother.”

Bill laughed out loud, when Percy pulled out another pack and threw it at Ron.

“I have one for Ginny, too, of course. For everyone, actually. We can all have one.”

“Not before dinner, I hope. Or Mum will throw a fit.”

Ginny was standing behind them, her hands clutching a teatowel and looking at Percy with an unreadable expression. Bill saw Percy’s gaze move down to Ginny’s belly. Ginny instinctively took a step back, but Percy moved closer and hugged her, although much more carefully than Ron. Bill understood that instinct. He had always been very careful with their mother, too, when she had been pregnant. Bill was sure that he could hear sobs coming from Percy, so he tried to give them some privacy. He saw Ron holding his frog, hurriedly pointing at Kyra, who grinned at him and skillfully opened her chocolate frog and bid its head off as Ron did the same, before Ginny could see or stop them. 

Bill shook his head at the two, but smiled anyway. They looked… good. 

In a flurry of arms and clothes they made their way inside the kitchen. Percy explained he was early since he decided to take the afternoon off, afraid he might not make it out of the ministry otherwise in  time.

“How are things at work then?”, Bill asked.

“Chaotic. No one knows who is responsible for what. Crouch hoped for more information from Harry Potter, but he isn’t talking. At all.”

“What do you mean?”, their Mum asked, sending a careful glance towards Ginny and Ron, but they didn’t seem to listen. Kyra was loudly talking about her plan to catch more chickens tomorrow.

“Crouch is trying to keep it quiet, but it’s… strange. He just walked in there. Through the visitor entry.”

“What?”

“Yes. No one even knew You Know Who was dead yet and he just… walked into the ministry. When people recognized him, he raised his hands and sank to his knees. He never even said a word. And when they searched him, they didn’t find a wand. They took him to Azkaban and still: He hasn’t said a SINGLE word.”

“His poor parents.”, their Mum sighed. Bill grumbled. Yes, it was sad, but there were a lot of families who had it worse. Like theirs, for example. At least the members of the Potter Family were alive.

“What is going to happen to him now?”, Bill asked darkly.

“There will be a trial. The very first one, actually. Two weeks from today. Crouch hopes he might talk then.”

“Doubtful.”, they all turned around, when they heard Ron’s voice.

“Why?”, Percy asked, a worried frown on his face.

“I went to school with the guy, remember? He is one stubborn bastard.”

“Could you not use that word in front of Kyra, please?”, Ginny hissed and got up, “Come on, little Angel, we’ll read another story.”

They all waited until Ginny and Kyra had left the room, before Percy asked Ron quietly: “You were in different houses. I thought you didn’t really know him.”

“Doesn’t mean I never spoke to him, does it? He hung out with Hermione Granger all the time. In the library mostly. But stubborn bastard (or bastard in general) springs to mind.”

“Did you ever… see him at the Snake Pit?”, Bill dared to ask, now that Ron was already talking.

“No. I hardly ever saw anybody.”, Ron declared and got up abruptly, following Ginny upstairs.

“Has anyone been by to talk to him yet?”, Percy asked.

“No.”, their Mum looked at him in confusion, “They interrogated him at the hospital. He was good to go.”

“They might be back. It’s pretty likely, actually.”

“Why?”, Bill asked, already having a pretty good idea about the answer he would get.

“Because of all the people found, Ron and Neville are the only one’s where… well… no one knows why.”

“It doesn’t matter why! As long as they are alive.”

“I know that, Mum, and it was not what I meant. Honestly.”

“‘Ello!”, called someone from behind them and they turned around to find Fred standing there, a bag of what Bill suspected to be sweets in hand. What was it with his brothers and sweets?

But Bill had to admit that he wasn’t about to say no to some chocolate, either. 

Fred greeted them all a little impatiently before asking where he could find “the rest of the family”. Bravely he took off towards Kyra’s room on his own.

“This is a hard day for everyone.”, Mum sighed and started to set the table manually.

“But good.”, Percy informed her, “Not just… well, I had seen Ron at the hospital, but him being home makes it so much more real. And Ginny… I don’t think I honestly let myself believe it, before I saw her, either. It’s so strange. All of it. She looks so… different.”

Bill honestly couldn’t say. He hated to admit it, but Ginny had been hardly more than a baby when he had left for Hogwarts and yes, he had seen her during school holidays, but he had moved far away after graduation. It was a sad reality that he had missed much in both Ron and Ginny’s lifes. With the others he had had more time at home and at least some at school.

“George is late.”, Mum changed the subject, “But dinner is ready now.”

“Then we start without him.”, Bill shrugged, “I doubt we’ll finish it all anyway.”

They finished setting the table and carrying the food over, before Percy volunteered to get the others.

“It’s a bit strange that George is this late, right?”, his Mum asked, looking at the door with worry. Old habits died hard.

“I am sure it’s work or something.”, Bill tried, but he was getting a little nervous as well.

Percy meanwhile made his way back into the room, followed by Fred, who was very proudly carrying Kyra. 

“What is this?”, Bill asked, mock affronted, “Who else is allowed to carry Kyra in this family?”

“Me. Obviously.”, Fred declared.

“Don’t worry, Bill, I am sure your arms are still the most comfortable.”, Ginny tried to reassure him and gave him a soft pad on the arm.

“She is just saying that to make you feel better.”, Fred informed him casually.

“Thank you, Fred.”

“Anytime.”

They were halfway through dinner, when George stumbled in, looking slightly windswept.

“Sorry for being late.”

Bill frowned. His voice sounded… off.

“That’s okay, dear. We had to start without you, though.”

George just nodded at all of them, his gaze travelling down the table, until it reached Ginny, who got up in order to better greet him. 

George walked around the table and hugged her, too, before he took a step back and looked at her. 

Bill was starting to get a bad feeling about this.

“This is Kyra.”, Percy informed George and gestured towards the little girl sitting between him and Fred. Kyra seemed to have given up on her shyness for now. Too many new people in one day, Bill suspected, and most of them with sweets for her.

“Hi.”, George told her brusquely.

Bill was too taken aback to even react, Fred was not.

“George.”, he warned sharply.

“What? I said hi, didn’t I?”

“George, what is going on?”, their mother asked, her voice alarmed.

“Nothing, I am here to have dinner with my family.”, and George simply sat down on the one vacant chair.

The silence in the kitchen was deafening. Ginny was still standing, her eyes darting back and forth between Kyra and George. No one continued eating, except for George, who started to put food on his plate. And, Bill noticed to his relief, Kyra, who seemed to not pick up on the sudden strange mood.

Bill waited. Was someone going to say something or were they now all just going to sit there, pretending everything was normal?

To Bill’s big surprise the one to finally speak up was Ron: “What the hell was that, man?”

“I have no idea what you are talking about.”, George huffed.

“No idea what I am talking about.”, Ron repeated, his voice flat and dark sounding.

Bill could feel their Mum next to him shift uncomfortably. This was not good.

“What exactly was expected of me? I said hi. What more do you want from me?”

“Kyra, how about we eat ourselves through the sweets Uncle George brought?”, Ginny said loudly.

Kyra looked up at her, as if Ginny had grown a second head, but seemed to decide not to risk her Mum changing her mind, so she agreed happily and got up, looking a little confused when no one else did, but taking Ginny’s hand nonetheless.

There was total silence again in the kitchen, until they couldn’t hear their steps up the stairs anymore.

“George, that was no way of treating your niece.”,Mum chastised, her voice low, “Did you have a hard day at work?”

“My niece? She is not my niece.”

The words hung heavy between them. George’s angry face, the resigned expression of Fred, Percy’s shocked eyes. Bill couldn’t see his Mum’s face, but what he could see very well was Ron.

“Shut up.”

“What did you just say?”

“I told you to shut up.”, Ron repeated coldly, “And I will do it again.”

“George”, Percy tried,”It’s not Kyra’s fault that…”

But George didn’t let him finish: “No. It’s not her fault. But I won’t sit here and lie. She is NOT my niece. She is NOT Ginny’s child and she certainly doesn’t belong here. She is the child of some rapist that Ginny was bullied into accepting as her own. Probably the child of some other poor girl that he raped to death, so hey: You Know Who simply gave him a new one.”

“Shut the hell up, George! You know nothing, NOTHING about what happened, so you stop pretending that you do!”, Ron was up on his feet now, his face red in anger, “You… you arrogant asshole. You have no right to talk about things you know absolutely NOTHING about!”

“George, I think you should leave.”

Their mother’s quiet voice stopped every fight, every argument right there. George turned around, staring at her wide-eyed. 

“Mum…”, he started, his voice suddenly small.

“I am sorry, George. I love you, you know I do and I will NEVER stop. But if this is your opinion then you can’t be here right now. Ginny and Ron and, yes, Kyra are the members of this family that need our support the most right now. People will stare at Ginny. They will talk and point and snigger about Kyra and the baby, too, once it’s here. And the one place in this world where they truly need to be safe is their home. So once you have calmed down and thought about the awful things you have just said, you are always welcome back in this house. But until then it is better for you to go.”

George’s shocked face was slowly turning red, they were all staring at their mother in shock. This… this wasn’t her. She never… but then again, Bill thought, she was right.

He hadn’t really thought about it too much, but just because Kyra's name had been nowhere within the paper yet, didn’t mean people wouldn’t figure out the truth at some point. That poor, poor girl and her unborn brother or sister would ALWAYS be singled out.

George ran out without another look at any of them. Ron was still shaking in anger, but sat back down when Percy took his arm and rubbed it, as if he was soothing a child.

“I am sorry, Mum.”, Fred sighed, “I knew he was… angry, but I didn’t think he would actually… the last couple of years were hard on him.”

“They were hard on all of us.”, Ron hissed and Fred flinched.

“Don’t, Ron. It’s not Fred’s fault.”, Bill finally spoke up.

“No. It’s not. I am sorry, Fred.”

“I know. It’s okay. And understandable. He’ll come around. Eventually.”

“If this is what he truly thinks then he can stay gone.”, Ron huffed and left the room. They could hear his angry steps up the stairs.

Their Mum got up and started to clear the table, her remaining three sons hurrying to help. 

“Oh.”, she sighed, her eyes landing on the dessert, “Well, we can eat it tomorrow.”

“Why?”, Bill asked, having a sudden idea. He took two of the bowls and gestured for Fred to take the dishes.

Together they all marched into Kyra’s room and huddled together in a circle, eating chocolate pudding and listening to each of them reading in turn. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



End file.
